


Sidewalks

by masquerace



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: But Y'all Knew This Already, Canon Compliant, Fluff, Ice Cream, Jack is a Doofus, M/M, Madison - Freeform, Real World Compliant, Scoops The Ice Cream Store, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, early Zimbits, idk this is the fluffiest thing i've ever written, read for cuteness and soft boys, there's some mild reference to angst but i physically can't write anything without it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-07
Updated: 2018-10-07
Packaged: 2019-07-27 18:32:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16224878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/masquerace/pseuds/masquerace
Summary: Jack comes to Madison, and Bitty insists they go for some ice cream. Sometimes people deserve a little something sweet (especially Jack and Bitty).





	Sidewalks

There were a lot of things that were making Eric nervous about Jack’s upcoming visit. He tried only focus on the stretch of highway in front of him, but his thoughts kept drifting back to all the ways this whole visit could go terribly, terribly wrong. His mother knew him better than anyone, and Eric was sure he was going to out them both because of it. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to keep the affection out of his expressions while Jack was there. Even worse, if someone actually _caught_ them being affectionate… Eric didn’t even want to think about the consequences.

Some darker part of his mind insisted there was a possibility Jack would change his mind about this new thing that was growing between them, and Eric felt that was somehow worse. There was a chance Jack would see him in person again and realize that all their soft words spoken over Skype meant nothing to him.

That didn’t happen, though.

Jack waved from the sidewalk at the pickup lane at Hartfield-Jackson when he spotted Bitty peering out the open window of his mom’s sedan, and Eric knew at once that everything was going to be fine. The affection in Jack’s eyes was unmistakable.

“Hey, Bits.”

“Hi, Jack.”

They scooted down I-20 as fast as midday traffic would allow while Jack complained bitterly about the humidity from the passenger’s seat. Bitty couldn’t help but grin.

The air mattress was set up on the floor of Bitty’s room, making things feel a little more cramped than normal. Jack didn’t seem to mind, though, which further set Eric’s mind at ease. Jack went straight for the shelf holding his figure skating metals, brushing his thumb along the edge of one in some sort of reverent appreciation.

“Did you use to do your videos in here?”

“What?” Bitty blinked at him.

Jack gestured at the shelf. “Um. Your vlog? This seems like it’d make a good, uh, backdrop. For them.”

“Oh!” Bitty floundered a bit, cursing himself softly for being so awkward, “Yes. The narration parts, anyway. I would do the baking part in the kitchen, but I guess that’s probably kind of obvious.”

“Heh, I bet you could manage some way to bake in here.”

“Jack, honestly honey, there’s not even an oven.”

“Didn’t you make a pie at the Haus with nothing but flour and Siracha once?”

“The Haus at least has an oven. A very nice one now too ever since _someone_ bought a new one.” Bitty poked his tongue out at Jack briefly, earning a kiss on the forehead that made him giggle. “Well, anyway, we have some time before dinner… I was thinking we could go to Scoops?”

“Scoops?”

Eric frowned, trying to figure out the best way to describe the little shop. “It’s like this little ice cream place. It’s kind of Madison’s _‘claim to fame’_ I guess, considering how popular it is around here. They have this newsletter they put out too, but if I’m being honest, it’s pretty hokey. I feel like you’d like it though. Even if ice cream doesn’t fit your fancy NHL diet plan very well.” He bit down on a smile. “Do you, um, want to go?”

“Sure. I think that makes this our first date then, eh?” Jack flashed him a sheepish grin and Bitty felt himself blush.

“Oh, uh.”

Jack’s expression fell. “Sorry, it doesn’t—I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. It can be just ice cream.”

“No, no! Sweetheart, I want it to be a date! Its—” Bitty took a breath to try and relax. “I’m still getting used to this. It doesn’t feel real. I…like you. A lot.”

“Well, that’s good, because I like you a lot too.” Jack ran a hand through his hair and glanced back at Bitty’s shelf. “I don’t think you realize exactly how incredible you are, Bits. If anything, I should be the one in disbelief.” 

“Oh hush. I guess we’re _both_ pretty great.” Bitty put his hands on his cheeks and frowned, trying to get his face under control before they went out in public.

Jack laughed as Bitty nudged him all the way out of the house.

“Wait, why aren’t there any sidewalks?”

“Jack, sidewalks in Georgia are exclusive to rich neighborhoods and the city proper. There’s one on Main Street.”

He frowned. “That doesn’t seem safe.”

“You’ll learn to manage, sweetheart.”

“Where am I supposed to run tomorrow morning?” He and Bitty ducked into the grass as a car rolled by.

“You are _not_ going to get up early for a run while you’re on vacation. NHL training be damned.”

“I’d like to see you try and stop me.” 

“I bet I could come up with some kind of incentive to keep you in bed longer tomorrow morning.” Bitty raised an eyebrow and smirked.

“Haha, okay.”

Jack was as fascinated by Scoops as Bitty expected him to be. The smell of ice cream hit them the second they walked inside, and it took Jack longer than their wait in line for him to make a decision because he seemed to need to absorb everything the shop had to offer before making a decision.

“Forty-eight flavors, and you order vanilla.” Bitty snorted as they walked down the sidewalk, cones acquired. “I really shouldn’t be surprised.”

“Simple or not, it’s very good.” Jack hummed softly and nudged their shoulders together.

“Of course it’s good! That’s the magic of Scoops. I still can’t believe you signed up for the newsletter. You don’t even live here.”

“Yeah, but you do part of the year, and I want to stay informed. Don’t you get it?”

Bitty rolled his eyes. “No, Jack.”

Jack gasped, feigning being scandalized. “Bits, how can you even call yourself a true Madisonian?”

“I thought it was Madisonite?” Bitty licked thoughtfully at his ice cream.

“The town officially voted on Madisonian in 2008. I, uh, may have googled your hometown in the Boston airport while I was waiting for my flight this morning.”

“You’re ridiculous, and I am not surprised. And anyway, I didn’t even live here in 2008.”

Jack frowned. “You didn’t?”

“No, We moved here the year after, when I was a sophomore in high school. Luckily we got here early enough that I was able to make the hockey rec league try-outs. I still say I only made the team because I was the only new person who already knew how to skate.”

“Was that weird?”

“Was what weird?”

Jack chased a trail of melted ice cream down his cone with his tongue before it was able hit his fingers. “Moving. After living in one place for so long.”

“I don’t know, sweet pea. Maybe? I mean, you moved around a lot in the Q. Right?”

“Well, yeah.” He took a bite from his cone. “But that’s different. I wasn’t ever in one place for very long, so moving didn’t faze me all that much. It was a fact of life.”

“Oh.” Bitty frowned as he worked more at his own ice cream.

Jack paused walking and looked curiously at Bitty. “How come you’ve never mentioned your actual hometown?”

Bitty sighed. He didn’t like thinking about his time before Madison—before Samwell, even—because it seemed like it was hard to find happy memories in between all the disastrous ones. Madison had been better, but nothing could beat his time at Samwell. Bitty glanced over at Jack. Even with the worry on his face, Bitty could still see the hint of fondness in his eyes that made his heart flip.

“Madison feels more like my hometown than it ever did. And, honestly, Samwell beats Madison by miles.”

Jack ruffled Bitty’s hair with his free hand in lieu of kissing him right there on the street corner in front of the whole town. “Yeah? …Well, what about Providence? Where do you think that’ll fall on your scale?”

Bitty flushed a little. “I’m optimistic, but I’m going to reserve judgement on _that_ until August.” He paused. “I mean. As long as you still want me to visit you before school starts up again.”

“I’m counting on it.”

They wandered the town until the humidity got to the both of them and Bitty lead them back to his house. Jack reiterated his concern on the lack of sidewalks outside of along Main Street, which just made Bitty laugh. They tumbled into the house right as Suzanne was finishing up dinner, and she called them out on their timing. Before Bitty could even think of a response to that, Jack insisted he had to change after their walk in the heat and hustled them into Bitty’s bedroom. He instead used the opportunity behind closed doors to kiss him silly. Bitty yanked him back down into another kiss after their shirts were changed and grinned wildly, drunk on the realization that he could do that. Maybe only when they were alone, but that didn’t really matter yet. All that did was that Jack actually liked him back.

“I still can’t believe you’re here.” Bitty’s voice was hushed as he ran his hands down Jack’s arms.

“As long as you’ll have me, Bud.”

“Don’t say that. I’d keep you forever if that’s the case.”

“I don’t really see any issue with that.”

Well. Bitty couldn’t do much else but smile at that. He knew they had so much more they needed to talk about and that there were so many ways this could go badly for the both of them, but for that moment—Bitty didn’t have it in him to care. Maybe he deserved some happy memories for once. Maybe they both did.

**Author's Note:**

> If you've never had a wall of sugar-smell hit you as you enter an ice cream shop, you're missing out tbh.


End file.
